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European Commission fines Google €4.34B in Android antitrust case

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Re: European Commission fines Google €4.34B in Android antitrust case

#941

Post by tanilama »

bitmapbrother wrote: post #823
sah2ed wrote: post #712

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Android being open at all was already a fight inside Google, this decision will essentially make it impossible for anybody win that fight in the future. I can't see why anyone would risk making an open platform again. It was a calculated risk that had a handsome payoff, if it worked, which is why it had to be open source, anything short of open source and Android would never have taken off like it did with several…

>It was a calculated risk that had a handsome payoff, Yes, it payed off in marketshare, but severely limited the profitability of Android and being another major revenue stream for Google. I hope this decision makes them think twice about their strategy for Fuchsia because they seem to be using the Android model all over again. Google really needs to start operating like Apple for better or worse.

Which I have to agree. EU basically kills the Android model, and makes monetization based on it impossible, because once you reach the scale of Android, for which it is necessary for such model to be profitable, you will be targeted. So why make things free at all, at least you won't be called as hypocrites.

Re: European Commission fines Google €4.34B in Android antitrust case

#942

Post by tanilama »

_bxg1 wrote: post #776
DannyBee wrote: post #694

The net outcome of this decision will be that nobody will create significant open platforms of this type anymore, because once you are successful you will no longer be able to have any control over the experience. Someone will always be able to find a market that you are hurting. If you actually read the decision that's essentially their underlying complaint. They dress it up in terms about search market blah blah bl…

As the adage goes, if a for-profit corporation gives something away for free, you're not the customer, you're the product. This applies to OEM's, in this case. The "product" is a Google-controlled mobile landscape; the OEM's aren't customers, they're a means to that end. These days I actually feel more comfortable when things aren't free. It means the company's motives aren't (completely) obfuscated.

I am not missing those days, where I need to pay 100 dollars for a piece of plastic called Windows.

Re: European Commission fines Google €4.34B in Android antitrust case

#943

Post by joepie91_ »

DannyBee wrote: post #694

The net outcome of this decision will be that nobody will create significant open platforms of this type anymore, because once you are successful you will no longer be able to have any control over the experience. Someone will always be able to find a market that you are hurting. If you actually read the decision that's essentially their underlying complaint. They dress it up in terms about search market blah blah bl…

> The net outcome of this decision will be that nobody will create significant open platforms of this type anymore,

Excellent development! These platforms weren't "open" in the first place, just pretending to be, so I don't see the problem.

Re: European Commission fines Google €4.34B in Android antitrust case

#944

Post by pas »

stickfigure wrote: post #798
shanghaiaway wrote: post #794

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So it's not open.

It's not that complicated. The Google apps and the app store are not open. Everything else is.

Google Apps Agreement prohibits you from enjoying the openness of that everything else.

And now the EU Commission thinks that this is an unfair (due to market share) agreement, because it prevents competition. (Which is trivially does, since no OEM can start making and marketing and selling a competitor.)

Re: European Commission fines Google €4.34B in Android antitrust case

#945

Post by tanilama »

nojvek wrote: post #569
maym86 wrote: post #495

This is a case of breaking a law where there was clear precedent set by the Microsoft case. Google decided it could get away with it or the cost was worth it. I'm glad the EU stands up to monopolistic practices and doesn't capitulate like in the US. Without large companies suppressing competition who knows how many other choices and products we would have?

Whatever we say about the EU, it seems they’re keeping US companies in check. Sure GDPR is vague and had Edge cases, but it’s been a huge boon to the world. Thank you EU.

They are penalizing US companies for tax avoidance, that is the root of all problems. EU as an entity, benefits very little from internet technology boom. The US companies take the revenue, disrupt traditional industries and except perhaps Amazon, they don't offer oppurtunties of employment that could give them a voice in local politics.

So all in all, the US internet companies are the pinnacle of globalist creation, or the biggest beneficiaries of such policy, and in the looming protectionist era, they will become the first sacrifice.

Re: European Commission fines Google €4.34B in Android antitrust case

#946

Post by wangyjx »

swebs wrote: post #535
philipodonnell wrote: post #451

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also Internet Explorer. This case seems almost a mirror of MS except in the phone space instead of PC. Only difference is that when the issue came up in Congress, MS was confrontational with regulators and Google cut some fat checks.

The other main difference it that the EU is punishing Google, while turning a blind eye to Microsoft's behavior. They were only fined for bundling IE and WMP with their OS. Locking customers out of competing operating systems is much more harmful in my opinion. The only EU mention of Windows bundling I can find is an Italian court ordering that customers should be able to get a refund for the Windows tax.

microsoft not forbids manufacturers to install OS other than windows, that's why you can buy computers with linux. There are always options, there is nothing to blame microsoft for this. If you don't want to buy Windows, you can choose a model without windows. If you cannot find a satisfied model without windows, go to blame your PC manufacturer

Re: European Commission fines Google €4.34B in Android antitrust case

#947

Post by DeathArrow »

gowld wrote: post #624
atomi wrote: post #581

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Google will start charging phone manufacturers to use Android on their devices. And they'll pass that on to consumers. The EU will get their check.

Then maybe consumers will start buying lower priced phones with a different OS.

The only other OS is iOS.

Re: European Commission fines Google €4.34B in Android antitrust case

#948

Post by el_cid »

dmos62 wrote: post #924
laser wrote: post #769

Earlier quoted context omitted.

1.9 / 63.8 != 0.29%

1.9 / 63.8 = 0,02978056426332288401253918495298 ~= 0.2978% ~= 0.3%. I didn't round very well, but I'd say I was close enough.

You can compare 63.8 to 100... it's lower... :) So the percent should be AT LEAST 1.9 :)

Re: European Commission fines Google €4.34B in Android antitrust case

#949

Post by bighi »

bad_user wrote: post #717
beerlord wrote: post #659

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Android already has a problem with fragmentation, which becomes a problem for customers when their phone becomes vulnerable due to a lack of security patches. There are lots of cheap Chinese Android phones simply filled with malware from the factory. If Google allowed phone makers to ship Android forks, this whole problem would become a lot worse. I think this Google policy is actually pro-consumer, and the EU is wro…

You’re talking of the eternal tension between security and freedom. No, I don’t think that reducing choice and locking them in Google’s ecosystem is pro-consumer, even if done for the right reasons. Let’s remember that Android was welcomed by many of us as a free (as in freedom) alternative to iOS. If you want a locked-down, secure and polished OS, then Apple’s iOS is far better at this game. The only reason why Andr…

> The only reason why Android is dominating the market right now is because it gave freedom to users and freedom to phone makers

I would say that the biggest reason it's dominating is because it's cheap. For most people I've talked to, they don't like Android, but prefer to pay 20% of the cost of an iPhone.

Re: European Commission fines Google €4.34B in Android antitrust case

#950

Post by paulie_a »

lovich wrote: post #910
paulie_a wrote: post #906

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not necessarily. Byod is commom. And quite frankly even if it is my employers box im not gonna put up with restrictions against installing a web browser. Or deal with some paperwork request, I'll work around it and just do it.

Who would bring their own equipment to work in software unless they are a founder? That's like paying to work. Especially when employers like to claim ownership rights to all data generated by their employees in the course of business. Mechanics bring their own tools frequently but their employers don't try to repo their personal vehicles just because the mechanic used the same tools at home and at work

It's fairly common to byod. Just think about personal phones. Do you have corporate phone or do have slack installed on your personal one?
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